WEBVTT THIS IS VIDEO MARYSVILLE POLICECHIEF THROUGH THE YEARS NOW THECENTER OF SEX -- OF A SEXUALASSAULT INVESTIGATION.SERVING AS HEAD OF THEDEPARTMENT SINCE 2014, BUT THEALLEGATION STEMS BACK NEARLY ADECADE.THE WOMAN ONLY IDENTIFIED ASJANE DOE MADE THE ALLEGATIONS ASAN INMATE AT SETTLEMENT OFCOUNTY JOE, SAYING EASTONSEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER WHEN SHEWAS A CADET.AT THE TIME, HE WAS A SHERIFF'SDEPUTY AND A CADET TRAINER.THE WOMAN CLAIMING, WHILE OUT ONPATROL IN THE THIN, HE LEANEDOVER AND KISSED HER, TELLING HIMNO, BUT STILL TAKING THE SEXUALACT FURTHER..WHEN YOU LOOK COUNTYINVESTIGATORS ASKED WHY SHEWAITED ALL THESE YEARS TO REPORTTHE INCIDENT, THE WOMAN SAID SHEDIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULDBELIEVE HER.IN A STATEMENT, THE CITY MANAGERSAID I AM AWARE OF THE SERIOUSALLEGATIONS AND ONGOINGINVESTIGATION INVOLVING CHIEFAARON EASTON.WHILE THIS IS ANALOGOUS AND ONLYAT THIS TIME, IT IS DEEPLYTROUBLING ON A PERSONAL LEVEL.FELT THE YUBA COUNTY SHERIFF'S

Marysville Police Chief Aaron Easton was replaced by an interim chief Thursday while the Yuba County Sheriff's Office and the district attorney's office investigate claims of sexual assault filed against him.

“While this is an allegation only at this time, it is deeply troubling on a personal level,” Marysville City Manager Walter Munchheimer said in a statement Thursday. "The Marysville Police Department is in no way implicated in any of the allegations or investigations involving Mr. Easton."

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In the statement, Munchheimer said Easton is separating himself from the police department in order to maintain the department's credibility while the investigating agencies decide whether or not to file criminal charges.

The sexual assault allegation stems from a 2008 incident. The victim, who was a cadet at the Yuba College Police Academy at the time, alleged that Easton sexually assaulted her during a ride-along. At that time, Easton was a Yuba County sheriff's deputy and cadet trainer.

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Former Marysville Police Chief Aaron Easton

The Yuba County Sheriff's Office began its investigation in May 2016, after the woman reported the incident while she was an inmate at the Sacramento County Jail. The head of the jail’s Prison Rape Elimination Act then reported the incident to the Yuba College Police Department.

The alleged victim, identified in an affidavit as Jane Doe, said she was on a graveyard shift ride-along with Easton when “he parked in a rural area where it was dark,” according to the affidavit of probable cause that was recently unsealed. “While they were parked, with no other vehicles or buildings around, Easton leaned over and kissed Doe.”

The woman said Easton then had her perform oral copulation.

“Doe told Easton she was not comfortable doing this and asked him to stop and if they could leave,” according to court documents. “Doe stated she felt she did not have an option and nowhere to go.”

The woman said after the alleged incident, they received a call over the radio and resumed patrol before she was able to return to the academy and leave.

In the report, investigators “asked why she waited all these years to report the incident. Doe did not believe anyone would believe her.”

The woman said she was kicked out of the academy shortly after the incident. It’s unclear why.

Since May 2016, Yuba County sheriff's investigators conducted multiple search warrants. They also investigated a claim that another cadet during the same time period was sexually assaulted by Easton. That woman is now a law enforcement officer outside Yuba County.

“She denied being a victim, however she advised that Easton was very flirtatious and was persistent in his flirtatiousness despite her lack of receptivity,” according to the affidavit of probable cause. “She stated that Easton told her, ‘If we went to the movies together, you could reach down and, like, grab my popcorn.’”

The court documents added that she believed the “popcorn” reference was sexual in nature.

Easton joined the Marysville Police Department in 2010 and became police chief in 2014.

"I cannot permit those personal difficulties to become a distraction from the department’s vital work, and I cannot have a part-time police chief," Munchheimer said in the statement. "Mr. Easton needs to devote his full time and energies to resolving these personal matters facing him and his family.”

Police Lt. Christian Sachs, a 17-year veteran of the department, will act as the interim police chief for the Marysville Police Department.